Security licence exemption for ID scanning

According to a recent release from the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, Mandatory ID scanning for most liquor licensed venues in safe night precincts commences on 1 July 2017. These venues will be required to operate networked ID scanners from 10pm onwards.

As a general principle, anyone involved in screening the entry of a person into a place must be licensed as a crowd controller.

However, the Commissioner for Liquor, Gaming and Fair Trading recognises that some liquor licensees will have employees whose role is only to scan a patron’s ID, and not directly interact with the patron.

The Commissioner is able to enact certain exemptions from licensing requirements under the Security Providers Act 1993 in limited circumstances, and has decided to apply an exemption to allow some flexibility for liquor licensed venues required to scan IDs.

A person scanning an ID will not need to be licensed as a crowd controller if (and only if) all of the following conditions are met:

  • ID scanning is mandatory for the venue.
  • The person scanning ID is accompanied and directly supervised by a licensed crowd controller at all times while performing ID scanning.
  • A licensed crowd controller independently assesses both the ID and the patron, and appropriately screens the entry of the patron.
  • If the ID scan identifies a banned patron, only a licensed crowd controller may remove that person from on or around the premises.
  • In any physical interaction between a licensed crowd controller and a patron, a person merely scanning a patron’s ID must avoid all involvement.
  • The person scanning ID must be appropriately trained to operate the scanning system.

The exemption will be reviewed after 12 months.

More information, including a practical example of how this exemption would apply, is available on the OFT website.